Conservation Science at The Nature Conservancy

Barry Baker
© Cliff Baker

People

Barry B. Baker, Ph.D.
Climate Change Modeler

Contact Information
The Nature Conservancy
Natural Resource Ecology Lab, B256
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1499

Phone: 970-491-1972
E-mail: bbaker@tnc.org, Barry.Baker@Colostate.edu

Brief Biography
Barry began his career with The Nature Conservancy in 2001 as member of the Western Conservation Science Center's ecoregional planning team. However, in January of 2002 he joined the Conservancy's Global Climate Change Initiative, which fit his professional and educational background quite well. He received a Ph.D. from Colorado State University where his research focused on the effects of climate change on grassland/livestock ecosystems. After completing a three-year post-doctoral research appointment with the USDA-ARS Great Plains Systems Research Unit, he found himself working as a consultant for the United Nations' Development and Environmental Programmes. While working for the UNDP and the Ministry for Nature and Environment in Mongolia, he was responsible for conducting a national ecoregional assessment and gap analysis of protected areas as well as a contributing author to the national biodiversity conservation action plan. He also worked for several years with the USEPA Country Studies Program to help develop strategies and methodologies for assisting developing nations in assessing vulnerability and adaptation responses of grassland ecosystems to global climate change. His research interests and responsibilities with the Conservancy include bioclimatology, biogeography, digital terrain and terrestrial ecosystem modeling theory, and the applications of remote sensing for the purpose of predicting the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. But in his free time one can find him snowshoeing, hiking, or climbing somewhere above treeline.

Education
1991 Ph.D. Systems Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
1988 M.Sc. Breeding and Genetics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
1985 B.Sc. Animal Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.

Selected Publications
Baker, B.B. and R.K. Moseley 2007 Advancing treeline and retreating glaciers: Implications for conservation in Yunnan, P.R. China. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. 39:200-209.

Baker, B. B., D. Bachelet, C. Daly, J. Ma, R.K. Moseley, X.Z. Shi, J.H. Sun, and A. Shlisky, 2006: Effects of climate change and land management practices in the Hengduan Mountains of northwestern Yunnan, PRC: options for alpine conservation. in: M. Price, (ed.), Global Change in Mountain Regions. pp. 272-273. Dumfrieshire, Sapiens Publishing.

Baker, B.B., T.G.F. Kittel, J.V. Higgins, C.J. Haney, and E.C. Saxon, 2005. Threshold responses to climate change on Alaska’s North Slope, Final Report to BP Exploration Alaska, pp. 65. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA

Baker, B.B., T. Ringler, and R.K. Moseley 2005. Response of alpine vegetation and glaciers to regional climate patterns in the Hengduan Mountains of Yunnan, P.R. China. In: Proceeding of the Mountain Climate Sciences Symposium, 2-4 March, Chico Hot Springs, MT.

Hannaway, D.B., C.P.Q. Daly, D.F. Chapman, B.B. Baker, and A.S. Cooper.2005. Computer-based Forage Management Tools: Historical, Current, and Future Applications. In: Proceedings of the Proceedings of the XXth International Grassland Congress. June 26-July 1, Dublin, Ireland.

Saxon, E., B. Baker, W.W. Hargrove, F.M. Hoffman, and C. Zganjar. 2005.Mapping environments at risk under different global climate change scenarios. Ecology Letters 8:53-60.

Baker, B.B. 1998. Rangeland Livestock Ecosystems. in: I. Burton, J.F. Feenstra, J. Smith, and R.S.J. Tol (eds.), Handbook on Methods for Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation Strategies. pp. 9.1-9.34. United Nations Environment Programme and Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Univrsiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Baker, B.B. 1996. Grassland/Livestock Impact and Adaptation Assessments. in: R. Benioff, S. Guill, and J. Lee (eds.), Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments: An International Handbook. pp. 5.15-5.26. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.

Eckert, J.B., B.B. Baker., and J.D. Hanson. 1995. The impact of global warming on local incomes from range livestock systems. Agricultural Systems. 48:87-100.

Baker, B.B., J.D. Hanson, R.M. Bourdon, and J.B. Eckert. 1993. The potential effects of climate change on ecosystem processes and cattle production on U.S. rangelands. Climatic Change. 25:97-118.

Hanson, J.D., B.B. Baker, and R.M. Bourdon. 1993. Comparison of the effects of different climate change scenarios on rangeland livestock production. Agricultural Systems. 41:487-502.

Hanson, J.D. and B.B. Baker. 1993. Simulation of rangeland production: future applications in systems ecology. in: M.F. Goodchild, B.O. Parks, and L.T. Steyaert (eds.), Environmental Modeling with GIS. pp. 305-315. Oxford University Press, New York.

Baker, B.B., R.M. Bourdon, and J.D. Hanson. 1992. FORAGE: A simulation model of grazing behavior for beef cattle. Ecological Modelling. 60:257-279.

Professional Associations/Memberships
American Geophysical Union
Ecological Society of America
Sigma Xi
US-International Association of Landscape Ecology